Berkshire Hathaway in talks to trade its Graham Holdings stock for part of that firm

Feb 12, 2014
The Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. – Warren Buffett’s company is considering trading its 1.7 million shares of Graham Holdings Co. for sole ownership of part of the company that was created when the Graham family sold the Washington Post.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. disclosed the deal talks Wednesday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Graham Holdings confirmed the talks in a statement.

The filing didn’t identify what part of Graham Holdings Berkshire might be interested in buying. Graham owns Kaplan Education, six television stations, the online magazine Slate and several other ventures.

Berkshire’s investment in Graham Holdings is worth roughly $1.1 billion. Berkshire said any deal might involve Graham handing over some of its Berkshire stock along with an unnamed subsidiary.

Berkshire says that if a deal happens, it will benefit both companies.